Cold Metal
by Sky's Penname
Summary: This is just a simple RosexEd oneshot. It's pretty much an AU if Rose had tagged along with the Elric brothers after Lior.


Sky: Yes, another one-shot. I've felt like writing about diffrent people lately, and my friend wanted me to write an EdxRose story. So I did. I really enjoyed writing this, and I'm sorry about the ending. The ending was really crappy, but I seriously couldn't think of anything else. Anyways, this is an AU kind of. It's just like if Rose was traveling with Edward the whole time after they met in Lior. Yes, there's a small sexual part, but I believed it was necessary. If you know me, it won't be that bad. I hope this is okay!

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Cold Metal

All right, let's get this started. My name is Edward Elric. I am a state alchemist of the military. Now, you might be asking yourself 'What the hell's an alchemist?' Well, I'll explain it quickly. To put it so even a baby could understand, an alchemist is pretty much a person who uses a 'scientific magic' you could call it. Now, I guess I have to explain my looks as well.

I'm a tall golden-haired boy, about the age of 15. I'm at least seven feet tall, and my long hair is tied in a pony-tail. A unique trait that my brother and I have is that we have golden eyes. I'm usually wearing a blood-red coat with some state alchemist white gloves. Yeah, I'm the best looking guy you could ever hope to see.

"Brother, are you talking to yourself again?"

Now let's get to my younger brother, Alphonse. Ever since a horrible experiment went wrong, his soul has been stuck into a large suit of armor. He looks like a monster, but on the inside he's just a weak little softie. Those red eyes the suit gives him are pretty scary.

"Brother… I'm right here you know. You can stop talking to yourself."

I snapped back into reality and looked around at my surroundings. Alphonse was looming over me with his arms crossed and a dangerous looking glare. "Oh, sorry Al," I said, scratching the back of my head. "I just get so bored out here in the desert sometimes."

Al sighed and took a step back. The blazing sun's rays reflected off his armor and into my eyes, making me wince. I turned my back, ready to start walking again, when my face nearly ran into a pair of breasts.

"If you're going to talk to yourself, at least tell the truth," the girl smiled, crouching over to mock/scold me. "You're not tall at all. You're short."

Face turning red, I backed away from her chest and let out a relieved sigh. Rose. I really have no idea why she's traveling with us. It was nearly two years ago we had met in a town called Lior. I never wanted her to come, but my brother wouldn't take no for an answer. Rose said that there was no point in her staying at home with her boyfriend dead. She had also said she wanted to see more about this 'alchemy' and she wanted to repay us for putting my brother and me through such trouble.

This wasn't exactly what I would call 'repaying' us for her trouble. She's more trouble than she's worth. Rose had bright pink hair at the front of her head, while from the back and down, she had long dark brown hair. Unfortunately… she was at least a head taller than me.

Suddenly, a painful sting was slammed into my head. "What the? Who the hell are you calling short?" I screamed, shaking my fist at her. Damn it, I hate being called short!

"Don't lose your temper now, little boy," she giggled, gently patting me on the head with her tan hands. I sent a death-glare up to her. "I'm just playing Ed, don't worry. It's awfully hot out here," she sighed, using her arm to wipe off the beads of sweat across her forehead.

With a growl, I looked out into the desert. It was a never-ending sea of sand that stretched out into the hazy horizons. There was no sign of any life other than our footprints that we left behind. The sun continued to shower down on us with its unbearable heat. I could keep going for hours like this, but of course, Rose couldn't.

"Do you want to rest, Rose?" Alphonse offered to the girl.

"Oh come on," I groaned, "We're always taking rests for her."

Rose gave a slightly nervous smile back to us. "It's all right, I can keep going."

That's what she always said. "No you can't… look, your legs are trembling," I said sounding gentler than I would have liked.

Looking down to her feet, Rose gave a slight nod back. "Yeah, I guess they are," she laughed nervously.

Growling, I looked down at the golden sand. To anyone else, this 'gold' would be useless. But, to an alchemist, this was just as good as gold. Putting on a look of concentration, I clapped my hands together, thinking to reshape the sand. Using a bit of the moisture in the air to help, I pressed my hands against the sand.

In a flash of light, the sand began to bend and swerve at my command. It took the shape of a beach umbrella and shielded us from the heavy sun. I put my hands behind my head and took a spot under the shade.

Rose eagerly laid down under the sandy umbrella, letting out a few tired grunts and sighs. "See, look. You were tired," I said, moving the hair from her forehead to see the sweat trickle off. "You're such a hassle."

"Sorry, Ed," she yawned, getting comfortable under the shade. "Can you tell me how you made this sand umbrella?"

I turned my head reluctantly to look at Alphonse. He gave a gentle nod. Rose always loved hearing me talk about how Alchemy worked. "Well, it was easy. You know how a sand castle works right? All I did was use the tiny amount of moisture in the air, and combine it into the sand. Then, using the-."

I stopped, seeing that Rose's eyes were closed and that her chest was moving up and down in a rhythmical motion. Something inside me seemed to make me smile unconsciously. She acted like a little kid whenever she got tired…

"She's cute, huh brother?" Al suddenly said from behind.

Suddenly feeling embarrassed, I turned around to face him, flailing my arms around. "What are you talking about? She's not cute!"

He held up his armored finger to shush me. "She's so tired. Let her sleep."

Looking back to her I nodded. She really was cute when she was asleep. Her hands seemed so delicate, her face seemed so peaceful. Her legs were curled up so as to stay under the sun, and some of her pink hair almost fell into her mouth.

I got up and walked up to a sandy hill with my brother and sat down next to him. "Why do you think she really came with us, Al? For two whole years she's been traveling along with us."

"She's lonely, brother," Al answered, looking out into the endless golden sea. "Her boyfriend is dead, and the priest she believed in so much couldn't revive him and turned out to be a fake. She has no family either."

I looked down the hill at the sleeping girl. That was the true answer. She has no one but us now. Just like us, she doesn't have a family. Without any warning to even myself, I suddenly spat out, "Do you think she still misses her boyfriend?"

"Do we still miss Mom?"

I didn't need to answer that. It must be tough for her. She always acts happy, but on the inside, I can tell she still feels alone sometimes. I can't imagine being alone myself. I've always had Al by my side, since I was just a little kid. I've talked to her a few times when she showed her true sadness. Just like me, she has a terrible scar in her heart that can never heal. She can only stop the pain for a little while, but the scar will always be there. A reminder to her lost family and lost love. Lost ones she can never find.

"Aren't you glad we took her?" Al asked, looking over to me.

With a grunt, I fell back into the sand lazily. "She's a hassle if you ask me. Only slowing us down."

"That's not true. If anything happened to her, you'd be a wreck."

Damn, I really hate it when he's right. He knows me better than I know myself at times. Either way, for some reason, it's just hard to say that I like her. I really do enjoy Rose coming along. "Maybe."

Eventually, Rose woke up, nearly a few hours later. She let out a happy yawn and gave the two of us an energy bringing smile. So, once again, we trekked on through the desert.

While on our walk, I stepped into an especially deep part in the sand and fell on my face. The taste of sand entered my mouth, and I could feel it all over my face and on my hair. "Here, let me help you out," Rose had said.

The girl heaved me up by my arm and began moving her hand through my long hair to brush the sand out. She saw the spot of dirt on my cheek that I couldn't and helped wipe that off quickly as well.

It really wasn't unusual for us to touch. After spending so much time with each other, we all just sort of got used to it. I wasn't afraid to touch her face, and she wasn't afraid to put her hand in my hair. It was kind of like… we were best friends or something. She helped me, and I helped her.

"It's a good thing that hole wasn't any bigger, or you would have fallen in," Rose teased playfully.

Another short joke…

Al grabbed me by the arm and held me back while I stringed all sorts of curses and insults back at her. Since I wasn't afraid to touch her, I wasn't afraid to kick her ass either!

While walking after that incident, she put her arms around my neck and placed her chin on top of my head. "You're pretty comfortable, all small and fuzzy."

I simply gave a growl and kept trekking forward, the girl tied around me tightly. She seemed to really like touching me lately. "Look, brother! The town!"

Alphonse pointed far in the distance, where only a fuzzy blur could be seen. That was the town all right.

_"Head down to the east in the desert, Full Metal," Colonel Mustang had ordered. "I hear there are some strange events going on down there." _

_I, of course, was furious. "You're making me go to some random town because 'strange events' have been happening?" _

_"Yes, now get going, I have a date to attend to." _

Damn that Mustang! How did he always talk me into doing this kind of crap? I'm a famous State Alchemist, and he's sending me to do lackey work!

I turned my head up to look at Rose. She gave a silent encouraging smile. A smile that said, "It's okay. We can still have fun while we do this."

Her eyes were beautiful under the sun's rays. They were so dark, yet so full of hope. You could see her determination glimmering in her eyes. I suddenly didn't feel so angry anymore.

So we reached the town in a few long and exhausting hours. By the time we got there, the sun was slightly under the horizon, painting the sky a wonderful orange. Rose was sweating pretty hard. I couldn't help but stare just a little bit.

After a quick rest against a building, we set out to find something about these 'strange events' that Mustang talked about. The city here was incredibly dull. It was like an old western town, swinging doors, sand roads, and rickety wooden buildings that probably could never stand an earthquake. It already looked like they were sinking into the sand anyways.

To my irritated surprise, I found the State's Military here as well. Mustang ordered me to investigate when there were already Military men investigating here! Man that guy really pisses me off…

We went through nearly the whole town, asking every person we could if anything strange was happening. Each one simply nodded their head and said they didn't have a clue what was going on.

"Well that was a waste of time…" I growled. "There's nothing strange going on here at all, except the military is overusing their power again."

Al waved to me, running off ahead. "I'll go get us a spot at the inn! Come on, Rose! We'll come to pick you up later, okay?"

Hearing her name called, Rose quickly ran along with my brother, waving happily to me. "See you soon, Ed!"

I let out a grumpy sigh and sat next to a building in the empty street. Leaning my head against the wall, I closed my eyes and wondered why I couldn't come too.

It was all a blur next. I waited and waited, and the sky seemed to turn dark in only moments. I knew I couldn't trust those two to find a simple inn. With a grunt, I got up to my feet and looked at the dark town. It seemed so dark and fuzzy out tonight… I must be tired. The streets were a little creepy though, all abandoned like this.

"Edward!"

I turned my head, and saw Rose waving happily to me from afar. "Finally, you guys took long enough." I walked over to her with a sigh.

In a sudden movement, Rose put her arms around me, hugging me tight. "Edward…"

Something felt strange. This didn't seem like her usual playful hug. It felt like she was hurting. "Rose, is something wrong?"

Her heart beat increased and she nuzzled her face against my hair. "Ed… Would you… would you be upset with me if I loved you?"

"Huh?" I gasped, red running up into my cheeks. "Yo-you what?"

"I love you," she said again, holding me tight in her arms.

This was all going to fast! I didn't know what to do! I could always tell she liked being around me, but love me? "R-Rose?"

A gunshot screamed through the air.

Suddenly, Rose's grip seemed to loosen around me, and her body began pressing against mine. I put my hand against her head and said, "What are you do-."

I stopped in mid-sentence. I looked at my hand that I placed against her head and found blood on it. I could feel my body turning pale as I turned her body around quickly to see a bullet-sized hole in her head.

My body began to tremble uncontrollably and she fell to the sandy ground with a thud. Her beautiful eyes stared out into nothing. "R-Rose! What…"

Suddenly, the military appeared from behind the buildings. Each one dressed in their blue uniforms, and each one's face covered by a dark shadow. They streamed out from the buildings, flooding the road like an ocean.

"Good job, Full Metal," one of the faceless men said.

I looked down to my hands and let out a gasp of horror. My metal arm was gleaming under the moonlight, and the dagger had somehow appeared on its own. The worst part… was that it was my metal hand… stuck inside her bloody stomach. "Rose! No, I didn't do this! What's going on?"

"We'll take it from here, good job, Full Metal," the man had said. I was unable to tell which one had spoken. There were hundreds of them, and they all looked the same. Like flies to a corpse, they began to swarm around Rose's body, picking her up.

This all was wrong!

I wrapped my arms around Rose tight, trying my best not to let the men take her away. "Rose, please don't go! You can't go like this!"

I didn't know what to do. I couldn't do anything. I was desperate to keep her.

"I love you, Rose, don't go!" I screamed, tears streaming down my cheeks.

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I shot up from my bed, covered in sweat and breathing hard. Where?...

I was in a room at the Inn. I fell asleep while waiting for them and they must have carried me here. I looked around the room desperately, seeing Alphonse clunky body on one bed. To the right, I saw another bed. Rose was sleeping soundly. She was fine.

Letting out a relieved sigh, I stared at her with a smile. Once again, her pink hair had gotten into her mouth. Rose really gave me a scare there. I couldn't even sleep at that point. Too much on my mind.

Slowly, I unwrapped the blanket around me and silently climbed out of the bed.

"Brother?"

I winced and looked over to Al. He never really slept very much. "Uh, hi Al."

His gentle red eyes looked into mine, studying carefully. "What's wrong?"

I scratched the back of my head, letting out a sigh. "Nothing, I just had a nightmare. I'm going out for a walk near the river, okay?"

"Do you want me to come?"

I shook my head. "No, that's okay, Al. I just have to think to myself."

Al nodded. He understood me. With that, I left the building and walked down the empty streets. Eventually, I found the river I was looking for.

There was lush green grass growing at the rivers edge. The calm waters shone under the pale moonlight, and I quickly took a seat in the grass. It was a little cold out tonight, and I'm not exactly used to lower temperatures.

That nightmare…

Staring into the river, I remembered what I had said before Rose was taken away. _I love you. _Was that true? Did I really love Rose? No, even if I did, I shouldn't.

I rolled up my sleeve to look at my metal arm, and then pulled up one of my pant sleeves to show my metal leg. My cold metal seemed to absorb the moon's rays, eagerly taking any light it could. She could never love me. A metal arm and a metal leg? Who would ever want to touch that?

The river's gurgle drowned out my sudden depression with its peaceful whispers. I really shouldn't be thinking of love anyways, this isn't a part of my mission. Besides, Rose has a dead boyfriend she loves.

"Edward?"

I turned my head back to see Rose standing at the top of the hill. Her pink hair was glistening under the moonlight, and her delicate arms were wrapped around her body in an effort to keep warm. "Rose, what are you doing here?"

She moved slowly down over to me, her eyes showing worry. "Well, Alphonse told me you were here all alone. I just want to make sure you're all right."

Rose took a seat in the grass just next to me, and I was suddenly aware of her beautiful sent. In a desert, there weren't very many good things to smell. Speaking of bad smells, I probably stunk at that moment. "I, uh… I'm fine," I stuttered accidentally, turning to face the river again.

Could it be? I was… afraid to touch her. My hands didn't seem to deserve the right to feel her soft skin. Nothing about me deserved her, her dead boyfriend was probably a lot better than I'd ever be.

"It's cold out tonight," she whispered, suddenly putting her delicate arms around my body. "I hope you don't mind, I just want to stay warm." She placed her head on my shoulder.

My heart was thumping uncontrollably, my body was no longer cold, and I'm sure that my face showed it. I really shouldn't be so afraid. I like the feel of her arms, the warm touch she has. "N-no. It's fine."

This wasn't a dream. I could feel everything, I could see everything, and I could smell everything. This beautiful girl was holding me in her arms.

Still blushing, I put my own arms around her, making sure that the sleeve of my metal arm was covering it. I really shouldn't have, I was letting this go too far.

Rose lifted up her head and let me nuzzle against her like a little kid. She put her hand on my head and whispered, "Ed, what do you think of me?" I felt her breath at the tip of my head.

I should just keep my mouth closed. I should just keep my feelings to myself. I don't want to mess things up. But… I can't. I don't think I need to either. With Rose, it doesn't matter. "I-I think you're beautiful," I finally breathed out.

I felt her body tense up slightly from the shock. "Do you…?" There was no need for her to finish. She was asking, "Do you love me?" and I knew it.

Nothing mattered right now. I didn't care if she didn't love me back. "Yes, I do," I said in a trembling voice.

Her grip tightened around me, and so did mine. "I feel the same way, Ed."

My heart soared, and I looked up into her beautiful eyes. Under the moon, they looked brighter than usual. "Rose…"

Slowly, Rose took my real hand and slipped off the glove I was wearing. In barely a whisper that I could hear she said, "I really love you." She guided my hand with hers into her own shirt.

My eyes went wide at the action, and she placed my hand against her breast. I wasn't sure what to do. I just stood there, frozen. It felt so warm, so soft. I didn't move my hand, even though I should have. I hate to admit it, but… I liked it.

She leaned closer to me and pressed her lips against mine, her delicate hands running through my hair. I could barely move, but I kept my hand inside her shirt and closed my eyes in her kiss. Her lips tasted like her scent. Like a beautiful rose, blossoming under the spring sun.

I felt one of her hands sneakily making its way to my shoulder, steadily pulling my coat off. I didn't care, I let her. I wanted her to. Soon, she had pulled my red coat completely off.

Still, I could feel her smooth breast in my hand, but I was too afraid to move it. She ran her hand along my chest and let the kiss end. Her hair mixed with mine as she moved her head to my shoulder. "Ed…"

"What is it?" I whispered.

She moved her lips to my ear, nibbling on it playfully for a moment. "I want you to do something for me…" she whispered into my ear almost seductively.

I didn't say anything, but she knew my answer. I waited for her reply.

"Do me."

My heart was racing again. I had no idea what to do; my eyes were wide with fear and embarrassment. Maybe I heard wrong. "W-what?"

"Do me, Ed," she whispered into my ear again.

I couldn't do that. It'd be wrong, wouldn't it? What would Alphonse think of me? What would my dead mother think of me?

I couldn't control myself. I wanted to do this. "Okay," I said shakily, moving my hand across her warm chest. Rose put her hand on my stomach and stroked it gently.

"You feel so nice," she whispered, smiling.

As my hand went to across her chest, I felt something. Something horrible.

There was no heartbeat.

She noticed it too, and an evil grin spread across her lips. In the little time I had, I jumped to the side, away from this girl. I was a little late.

Rose's 'delicate' arm had turned into a sharp pointed blade. She had tried to stab me in the stomach, but I just barely moved out of the way. She managed to get a nice hit on my side though.

I clutched at my bleeding wound, feeling weak and humiliated. "Who the hell are you?" I screamed.

"Don't you know, Edward?" she hissed.

A flash of light appeared over her body, and I could now see her true form. This person had long spiky green hair. If it was a male or a female, I couldn't even tell. The one thing I could tell, though…

It was a homunculus.

"My name's Envy," it growled. Even its voice was hard to distinguish between male or female. "Edward…"

Rage was welling up inside me; the color of humiliation was stained on my cheeks. "What the hell were you doing?" I roared.

The homunculus just laughed, glaring down at me. In a mock voice of Rose, it said, "Oh Edward, do me! Do me! Haha!"

"Shut up!" I screamed, still clutching at my side. "Why would you pretend to be Rose?"

Envy's smile never faded. Fangs could be seen along the homunculus' grin. "It's not like you'd ever get that girl to love you anyways. I was doing you a favor!"

The stinging in my side only grew more painful, and I fell to my knees.

"Who would ever love a monster like you?" it cackled. "You're a disgusting pervert."

Envy was right. How could I ever think of Rose that way? I was nothing but scum.

"And look at yourself. You have a metal arm and a metal leg. No one wants to see that!" it continued to laugh at my misery. "Don't you think her dead boyfriend was better than you? He really was. You know…"

I glared up to the being, knowing everything it said to be true.

"The real way Rose's boyfriend died…" it grinned. "I killed him."

I couldn't breath. I would have run up there, but I couldn't find the strength to. "You bastard! That can't be true!"

Envy shrugged its shoulders. "Believe what you want." It looked over to the side. "Ah, well would you look at that. Here she comes now. I'll leave you two alone, don't get too frisky now!" In a flash, Envy was gone. Its laugh was the only thing left behind.

"Damn it… I can't believe myself…" I nearly fell on my face, almost about to cry even. How could I betray Rose like that? I… I kissed the one that killed her boyfriend. I had horrible thoughts about her; I would have done horrible things to her.

Up on the top of the hill, I saw the blurred version of Rose. The real one. Once she saw me, she screamed and ran down as quickly as possible. I didn't want to look at her. I didn't deserve to look at her. I toppled down into the grass and let the darkness take me.

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"Geez, Ed… you worry me so much," Rose whispered to herself.

The darkness began to run away, and I opened my eyes. The real Rose sat hunched over me, wrapping bandages around my wound. "R-Rose…" I weakly mumbled.

She gave me a smile. "Don't talk; I'll make sure everything is okay."

Everything isn't okay. The things I did can never be forgiven.

I kept my head back in the grass. We were still by the river. She was quickly wrapping the bandages around my stomach, and every time she came around to my back, her chest would slightly touch mine. "Stop it…" I said, not wanting to feel anything anymore. Especially from Rose.

She didn't listen, and she kept wrapping despite what I said. "Ed, I love you too much to stop now."

"W-what?" I gasped, trying to back away slightly.

Her eyes grew distant, but she still did her work. "While you were sleeping… I heard you. You said, 'I love you, Rose.'"

My heart was pounding again, my spine was frozen, my skin felt pale. "No, Rose… what about your boyfriend?"

"He's dead, Ed," she said sternly. "I… there's nothing I can do."

I wanted to get away from her. I didn't deserve to be with her, I didn't deserve any of this! What have I possibly done that would make this equivalent exchange? No, I didn't deserve her love at all. "He was so much better than me, though."

"Don't say that," she ordered. "I loved him, and I love you. I will never compare the two of you."

Still, my heart was aching. If she knew what had happened…

"That doesn't matter now," Rose continued, finally finished wrapping the bandages around my wound. "What happened to you? How did you get this?"

I got this wound by trying to have sex with you. Disgusting… I can't tell her. She wouldn't love me anymore. I know that for a fact. "Nothing happened…"

She placed a gentle hand on my cheek. "Something did happen. Please, tell me Ed."

Her hand was so warm, so comforting. I couldn't take this anymore. I don't know why I did what I did next. I really wish I hadn't.

"Don't touch me!" I screamed, jumping up to my feet.

Taking her hand back, I saw tears nearly form in her eyes at the action. "Edward, what's wrong? Does it make you upset that I love you?"

Burning with an unknown rage, I continued to yell. "Yes! I don't want you near me; I don't want you touching me! You're just a hassle!"

Rose took on the look like she got shot. She clutched at her chest and looked down to the ground. "I… I'm so sorry," she whispered.

I let my breathing drop and my rage cooled down. "No, Rose… you don't understand. I really lo-like you. I like it when you're around. I just…"

There was nothing left to say. I didn't want to be around her right now, I really shouldn't be. Saying nothing else, I dashed off back into the city, leaving her alone by the river. I was about to cry, so I sealed my eyes shut.

Not looking where I was going, I slammed into something hard. I looked up to see a man in blue. A man from the military I knew. Over one of this man's eyes was an eye patch. A cheery smile was across his face. This guy was the leader of the Military. "Ah, Full Metal. I see you captured the villain responsible for the crimes in this town."

What the hell was he talking about?

I turned around to see Rose being taken away by military men. "What are you doing? Why are you arresting Rose?" I screamed at him.

Still, his cheery smile never left. "She's the one everyone has described as a thief, and she's the one who killed a family while in this town."

I let out a gasp of disbelief. It wasn't Rose, it was Envy! "No, you have the wrong person! She was framed!"

The man gave a frown for a moment. "I fail to believe that. One of my men saw her with their own eyes. She'll be executed quickly."

I took a few steps back, eyes wide with despair and fear. Next to the man I saw my brother Alphonse. He had the same worried look. "You can't do that!" I shouted.

"I can and I will," he growled. "You had best watch your tongue or you'll be out of the military."

The men dragged Rose into the middle of the street, where they tied her arms behind her back. "I don't trust this girl," the leader of the military said. "We had better kill her right here and now."

Everything was going to fast! They can't do that to Rose! This was all my fault, I screwed up again…

The men made a circle around her, and one man aimed a rifle directly at her. "Rose! Don't do this to her!" I screamed, feeling my body begin to quake.

Alphonse looked over to the military leader. "My brother is right, this girl is innocent! Stop it!"

I saw Rose. She looked at me, eyes filled with tears. I wasn't going to let this happen. She didn't deserve this, I did. If anything happens to me, then who gives a damn! They won't do this!

"Ready…" one of the military men said, pointing his gun at the girl. "Aim…"

"Don't even try it!" I screamed, clapping my hands together to start another alchemic reaction. The ground here was very unstable. All I had to do was mess with the heat and dirt under the sand, and it'd be easy. I slammed my hands into the ground, electricity and light exploding in every direction.

Like an earthquake, the men were shaken off balance and thrown down. The military soldier's gun shot off harmlessly into the air as he was nearly sucked into the sand beneath him.

I took my chance and dashed forward, grabbing Rose's arm. With my metal arm, I cut the rope that held her arms together and ran as quickly as possible in the way out of town.

"Come on, Al! We're getting out of here!" I shouted. I'd have to run by the military's leader, but I was prepared. Al was waiting for me to get by as well.

To my surprise, he made no attempt to stop me. He simply smiled and watched me run by. With that, the three of us dashed back out into the desert where we had begun. I would be a wanted man by the State now. No longer a State Alchemist.

A soldier ran up to the man with the eye patch. "Should we go after them, sir?"

Still, the cheery smile was on his face. "No. I need him for certain purposes."

Rose… no matter what happens… no matter what I do. Even if I'm a monster, you still don't deserve to be hurt. I'll protect you always. I'll protect you because I love you.

"I love you too," Rose giggled, running behind in the desert.

"Wh-what?" I stuttered.

"You were talking to yourself again…"


End file.
